Pages

Monday, February 9, 2015

The New Kitchen Island (A Start!)

Happy Monday my friends! I hope your weekend was wonderful! We had a basketball game, hosted a baby shower, went out with friends, a bday party, our grandson’s baptism and then a movie with most of my family yesterday evening. It was a fun, wonderful, exhausting weekend and I’m looking forward to a few minutes of relaxing on this Monday. :)

So I have to share the progress of the “new” kitchen island because I’m so pleased with it. I showed you the new wine holder I created last week:

It didn’t look like much, I know. But have faith my friends!! Next up I built the new cabinet for the end of the island. It is just a big box – I used 3/4 inch plywood for this and just used wood glue and screws to put it together like I did the wine rack.

I needed to build it up off the floor a bit so I had some pine cut down to four inches (the exact height I needed – one by fours do not actually measure at one inch by four inches unfortunately) and built a simple box by nailing them together:

It doesn’t need to be perfect because it will be hidden later, it just needed to be strong enough to support the cabinet.

To attach it I screwed scrap pieces of wood into the bottom panel and then attached the frame to those with screws as well:

I flipped it over and then attached it to the end of the island (the wine rack). I was going to secure it through the floor too but realized I really didn’t need to do that once it was installed. It was super sturdy and I knew the new island top would keep it even more secure.

Here’s the new size with the old countertop off:

We have two plugs in the island already – one is for the trash compactor and I had help extending a new plug from that into the new cabinet:

This end will have a shelf and the microwave will sit on the upper shelf. I’m still doing research on what we’ll need to use.

Here’s how the other side looked before the new countertop and before I closed up the end:

Here it is after I covered the end and the new counter on top!:

That wine rack added about six inches to the whole thing which gives us a little more space for the three stools:

Each end of the island will be framed out for an even more custom look and the stools will sit inside. That’s my next project. :)

I framed out the wine rack and it looks a million times better already:

The side of the new cabinet will get the same planking that the rest of the island will get:

I’m going with horizontal planks instead of vertical ones this time and in my head it’s looking great!

The best part though -- the new countertop! Last Thursday I got this beast home in my car and it was slightly terrifying because I had to tie down the back and let it stick out a bit. I have to do that a lot but this thing was so heavy I thought it would just slide right out. I was sweating the whole way home. :) But it arrived safely and it’s just gorgeous!:

I actually wanted to oil it with the Tung oil I usually use but Northwest Lumber (where I got it) put some kind of sealant on it to prevent cracking or warping instead. They said I could sand it down a bit to apply the oil but on closer inspection I realized it would take more than just a slight sanding. And whatever they used is AWESOME because it doesn’t scratch and it stands up great to liquid. My Tung oil does well too, but I can tell this will provide even better protection against scratches. (I’m going to call to ask what the sealant is so I can let you all know.)

I hosted a baby shower this weekend and we had greasy food and wine droplets that sat there for awhile and they wiped right off – I’m very pleased with it so far. I don’t mind some wear and tear on something like this, but it’s not nice to not have to worry about it, you know?

Can I tell you how dreamy the longer island is?? We had a TON of food on it for the shower and it all fit perfectly. I was making food Thursday evening and kept saying out loud how freaking awesome it was to have more space. It is WONDERFUL! It’s nice just to have an island, believe me. But the extra two and half feet is going to rock.

The size is really perfect. We still have tons of open space at this end near the window seat and pantry:

The new larger size is just right for the size of our kitchen now. I really couldn’t be more pleased with it!

I am so excited to see how the vision that’s been in my head for all this time is coming together – and I’ve done it without breaking the bank!! Next up, build the end supports and then wrap the whole thing with the planking. After that I’ll get the base around the whole thing and then paint! The microwave will come later when we’ll tackle the bigger stuff like backsplash and taking down some of the current cabinets.

For now, I leave you with a shot of pretty flowers, because they are hydrangeas and I’ve missed having them in the house so much!:

If I left out any details of what I’ve done so far let me know and I’ll be sure to respond. This really wasn’t hard to do – I completed the two cabinets in a day and then the other trim and details so far were done in a couple hours. I get a LOT done before people come over. ;)

36 comments:

It's looking great! A big island counter is such an asset when hosting parties (or cooking dinner while your kids have their school Valentines strewn out all over the whole thing.) My microwave is down below and we love it. It's not a built in - but framed in a bit and fits perfectly. Can't wait to see how you trim it all and finish it off!

Looks amazing! I would love to enlarge our island, but that's not going to happen until we can redo the countertop again. Also, can I just say that I love that you opened your home to host a shower amidst the construction. I can always count on you to keep things real.

Nothing like the pressure of a party to get projects done! Looks awesome. Are you planning a slender dining table for in front of the windowseat now that your other table is gone? Looks like it could fit and be another sit down eating area as opposed to just the island.

No we aren't, at least not in the near future. (I may change my mind someday!) With the island and the window seat and the kitchen table right there there's plenty of eating space. I love having it open so it will stay like that for now.

The wine rack, while it seems specific is a great niche to have. When not filled with bottles I have my cloth napkins, mason jars of snacks, or a stack of letters or cards tucked into each of the nooks. It is actually quite a versatile and minimal effort addition that becomes super useful.

You are inspiring me to tackle wood projects. I haven't yet - but I am ever so tempted! Nail gun, saw, glue.. how hard can it be?! Why can't I do it? Now to find my first project.. What should I trim out.

My island is 8 feet with the sink in the middle...it's AH-Mazing! Our overhang is about 12 inches or so to allow our stools to totally hide underneath it. I love that they can be hidden out of the way! I also noticed before that you had the bar height stools, is that so your kiddo can reach better? I had to really pay attention to make sure I got COUNTER height stools.

I so wanted to be able to hide the stools too! I just couldn't find butcher wide enough anywhere. (Ikea used to make it but they've discontinued it.) I've always just found that the stools I like are always bar height for some reason. It's so easy to cut them down though (if they are wood) -- I've done it with both sets of stools we've had at the island over the years. It's hard to find counter height!

Can I tell you how impressed I am that you know how to do all of this? Not only do you know how to build, but you clearly can come up with a vision and design that actually work! Awesome. I really like the new length, it looks so useful! We have an island in our kitchen but our sink is in the middle of it and there's just hardly any counter space. Such a bummer!

When you post like this, I always wonder when you do the bulk of your work. If it's during the week, is it when your son is in school? I don't know how you do it all. Great job!

1. Am I understanding correctly that you put the microwave outlet on the same circuit as the trash compactor? Because I've always heard that the microwave should be on its own dedicated circuit. Some places that's actually code, others it's just strongly recommended. It might not hurt to check your local code.

2. Since you're taking down wall cabinets, is there a reason you didn't just use one (or more) of them to extend the island? (I thought I remembered that part of why you didn't want to order more matching cabinets to extend the island was to save $, and because you didn't want to have to wait for special-order cabinets.)

3. You might want to double-check if the sealant on the new counter is food-safe. Lots of kinds aren't. (It's no big deal to just make a point of doing your prep on a cutting board, it's just better to know).

I will have to check on that outlet -- I'm not concerned because the new microwave will be much smaller than what we have now and the two would never be used at the same time, but I'll do some checking. I didn't use those cabinets for a few reasons -- they are uppers so don't have the drawer that the base would have, they are shorter, even the smallest one would be too wide for how long I wanted the island to go and I'm doing this in phases and am nowhere ready to take down those cabinets. I can deal with projects half way often but that would drive me crazy (it will probably be a good four to six months at least before I tackle that wall and new tile). And I'm quite sure the sealant is fine -- this butcher block is made for kitchen countertops. I don't cut on my island anyway, only a cutting board. Good questions, thanks!

I have been enjoying every post about this island because I have one that is "in progress". too. LOL I raised mine with wheels. I also had to add my "own" part becuz one cabinet was not as deep. Now I have a "secret compartment"....wide but not deep cabinet that houses all the cookie sheets and racks. It is WONderful! I also added a bookshelf to the end. I will be watching til the end! Great job so far! Do ya ever just think "man, I am getting tired of this thing" as you progress slowly? I sure do! I have to unscrew my top and take it into the garage to put the laminate on becuz the glue fumes could actually get to a pilot light and blow up the house if there is no ventilation! (Not to mention kill the hamster!LOL)

This looks SO good. I can't wait to see it all planked and painted. Did you say awhile ago that you were going to paint the rest of the kitchen white? That would look spectacular. I just love how this whole area is coming together for you. I also love that you are doing it at what might be a more realistic speed for most of us. :)

LOVE the new butcher block top and the wood choice. Beautiful. It adds so much warmth to the whole esthetics. Regarding the breaker, all of our kitchen is on one breaker (dumb) and we haven't changed it. The refrigerator doesn't seem to throw the breaker while using the microwave, but everything else does - including the toaster! Even our older kids have learned how to reset that breaker.